Feb 6, 2006

Back to Fibery Matters

I am still working on numerous UFOs: socks, Raven's poncho (beginning to think this should be made to fit her for next winter ), and something using delicious Malabrigo yarn. I say "something" because I have no idea what it is going to be!

I can say that my intention when I cast on was to get back to creating felted vessels...but this may wind up being a bag....or...or...something.

I've also been spinning some and have finished a skein of that Blue Face Leicester hand-dyed I bought from Winderwood Farm. This is about 4 oz. and 220 yards of 2-ply. I still have 4 more ounces to spin, but there's a lot more of the pinker colors in that batch, so I imagine that skein will look a bit different.

I swore that I was going to limit my Noromania to Kureyon, Silk Garden and Iro (with a little Blossom once in awhile) (oh, okay, and some Kujaku, but ONLY color #22!) Then Martha at RiverWools got in a color of Kochoran that sang a siren song to me and so I acquired the following:

and at the same visit to RiverWools, I took a good look/feel of Harrisville Orchid, which is a soft spun blend of mohair, wool and silk in solid colors - very complimentary to mix with Noro wool/silk and with great yardage for the price, about $10 for 245 yds. So these came home with me as well:I'll finish up this entry with a return to Raven's (my 10 yo granddaughter) poncho. I titled this picture Calamity.........because my Denise circular needle just SNAPPED right off at the join! It made an absolutely sickening cracking sound. My astonished face must have looked comical.

I do think it was entirely my fault though. I was horrified to realize how short a cord I was using, I should have switched to a longer cord many, many rows back. I had been having a lot of difficulty moving those stitches around to work, and just kept on suffering....one of those d'oh moments.

Anyway, I'm really close to being finished so I hope the patient Raven will be able to wear it a bit before warmth returns.

Hi Margot - I spin on a beloved Louet S10, my first and only wheel, purchased in 1992. For nearly 3 years before that, I spun on homemade Turkish-style spindles and I still use them. I really like the Louet - I feel like I can spin pretty much all the range I'd like to spin. I did get the fine spinning flyer a couple of years ago, but spinning very fine makes me tense for some reason, so I don't use it much.

About Me

Professor's wife, mother of four, zannma to two. Grew up in Coral Gables, Florida, transplanted to Indiana at age 40, where I saw my first snow and learned to love wool. We homeschooled three of the kids, I helped to create a used bookshop ( Wabash River Books 1996-2005)and became an online bookseller. I started this blog in 2005 to share my mid-life artwork (primarily fiber), poetry and creative explorations. On March 18, 2006 my 20 year-old son Patrick died...and my world irrevocably changed.
I own 64 years now. Life is very mysterious, magickal, beautiful and sweet and sad.